For several long moments beneath the moonlit gates, neither Arin nor Liora moved.
Cold wind drifted softly through the ancient kingdom walls while the mountains beyond stretched endlessly into darkness ahead of them. Somewhere far beyond those distant peaks waited the Fractured Expanse. The final fragment of Vijaya. The Entity.
And yet—
right now none of that felt as important as the girl standing in front of him refusing to let him walk away alone again.
Liora still held his hand tightly, almost like she expected him to vanish the second she let go.
Arin quietly stared at her afterward before exhaling softly under his breath.
"…you really weren't going to let me leave."
"No."
Immediate.
Certain.
Liora stepped even closer afterward while narrowing her eyes slightly.
"And if I had to physically drag you back?"
A faint smile almost appeared on Arin's face.
"…you probably would've tried."
"Tried?"
She looked offended instantly.
"Arin, I absolutely would have succeeded."
That finally earned a quiet laugh from him.
The tension between them softened slightly afterward.
Then without another word, Liora grabbed his wrist properly and started pulling him back toward the kingdom halls.
Arin blinked once.
"…you're literally dragging me."
"Yes."
"…this feels unnecessary."
"You lost your right to complain when you tried sneaking away at midnight."
Arin allowed himself to be pulled along quietly afterward while moonlight followed them through the empty corridors again.
And strangely—
for the first time since deciding to leave alone—
the pressure inside his chest eased slightly.
Because deep down, part of him already knew this outcome was inevitable.
He never truly wanted to leave them behind.
He was simply afraid of what might happen if he didn't.
By the time they returned to the massive chamber, the fire near the couches had nearly burned out completely. Everyone else still appeared asleep exactly as before.
Liora stopped near the entrance afterward before quietly looking toward him again.
"You're staying."
It wasn't a question.
Arin sighed softly.
"…yeah."
Only then did she finally let go of his hand.
The silence between them became softer afterward.
Then quietly—
"Good."
Something about the way she said it made Arin's chest tighten slightly again.
Because there was relief in her voice. Real relief.
As though she genuinely feared he might disappear if she arrived even a few minutes later.
Arin slowly looked toward her afterward.
"…sorry."
Liora blinked slightly.
Because Arin almost never apologized directly.
Then her expression softened again.
"…don't do it again."
He nodded once.
And for the rest of the night—
neither of them tried sleeping far from the other.
Morning arrived slowly across the kingdom.
Golden sunlight spilled through the enormous windows while distant bells echoed faintly throughout the mountain city beyond. The warmth of dawn slowly replaced the cold atmosphere left behind by the night.
And unfortunately for Arin—
peace lasted approximately three minutes after everyone woke up.
"What the hell were you trying to pull last night?"
Riven's voice echoed dramatically through the room the moment breakfast arrived.
Arin calmly looked up from the table.
"…good morning to you too."
"No seriously," Selene added immediately while crossing her arms.
"You thought disappearing alone was a good idea?"
Darin looked equally unimpressed somehow.
"Do you have any idea how insane that was?"
Arin blinked once afterward before looking toward them carefully.
"…what do you mean?"
The entire room stared at him.
Riven slowly pointed at him with complete disbelief.
"Oh he's pretending now."
Kael rubbed her forehead tiredly.
"You cannot possibly be serious."
Arin calmly drank from his cup afterward.
"I genuinely don't know what you're talking about."
Liora looked toward him flatly from beside the window.
"…really?"
A faint silence followed.
Then suddenly Riven leaned forward dramatically.
"Did you seriously think you'd be able to leave unnoticed?"
Arin paused slightly afterward.
"…you were all supposed to be asleep."
The room exploded immediately.
"We WERE asleep."
"Until someone started leaving."
"You're not subtle."
Riven looked personally offended afterward.
"You packed a literal divine weapon, Arin."
"That thing glows."
"That's not the point," Selene interrupted instantly.
Kael sighed quietly afterward.
"We woke up because someone decided to become emotionally self-destructive at two in the morning."
Arin looked mildly betrayed now.
"You all knew?"
"Yes," everyone answered together.
Even Aira nodded immediately.
"We just didn't stop you because we saw Liora following after you."
Riven leaned back dramatically afterward.
"We figured she'd knock some sense into your head."
Liora crossed her arms proudly.
"And I did."
"…traitors," Arin muttered quietly.
That immediately made everyone laugh again.
The atmosphere became lighter afterward while breakfast continued, though the conversation never fully moved away from what happened last night.
Because beneath all the teasing—
they were still worried.
Eventually, once preparations finished and supplies were gathered, the group finally departed the kingdom itself.
Elyra stood waiting near the outer gates while the morning winds moved softly through the massive temple banners overhead.
The Regent quietly studied them as they approached.
"So."
Her golden eyes shifted toward Arin briefly.
"You decided not to travel alone after all."
Riven immediately pointed toward Liora.
"Credit goes to her."
Liora looked completely unapologetic.
"You're welcome."
For the first time since they met her, Elyra almost looked amused.
"Good."
The Regent's gaze slowly sharpened afterward.
"Because surviving the Fractured Expanse alone is nearly impossible."
The atmosphere darkened slightly again.
Elyra raised one hand afterward while golden light formed briefly between her fingers. A small crystal appeared before Arin moments later.
"This will guide you toward the stable paths."
Arin accepted it quietly.
"Stable?" Kael repeated suspiciously.
"There are no truly safe routes inside the Expanse," Elyra answered calmly.
"Only paths that collapse slower than others."
Nobody liked that explanation.
At all.
The Regent slowly looked toward Arin one final time afterward.
"And remember this carefully."
Her voice lowered slightly.
"The closer you move toward the final fragment…"
The crystal in Arin's hand flickered strangely.
"…the less reality itself will obey reason."
Silence followed.
Then finally—
the gates opened.
The journey began again.
The first few days passed quietly.
The mountains beyond the kingdom stretched endlessly around them while colder winds gradually replaced the warmth of civilization behind them. Villages disappeared. Roads faded. Even forests became thinner the farther they traveled.
And throughout all of it—
the conversation about Arin's attempted escape continued relentlessly.
"You know what bothers me most?" Riven said one evening while the group rested beside a cliffside trail.
Arin sighed softly already.
"…we're still talking about this?"
"Yes."
"Absolutely," Selene added immediately.
Riven pointed dramatically afterward.
"You left a NOTE."
"It was a good note."
"It was emotionally devastating and badly timed."
Kael nodded seriously.
"Honestly the handwriting was nice though."
Liora quietly smirked beside Arin afterward.
"I considered throwing it away before anyone woke up."
Arin looked toward her in disbelief.
"You still have it?"
"Yes."
"…why?"
Liora immediately looked away afterward.
"That's not important."
Riven gasped dramatically.
"She kept the note."
Selene immediately buried her face in her hands.
"Oh they're hopeless."
The group's laughter echoed softly through the mountain paths afterward while the sun slowly disappeared behind distant peaks.
And despite the danger ahead—
despite the fear lingering beneath every step toward the Expanse—
they continued moving together.
As friends.
As companions.
As people refusing to let each other walk alone anymore.
But eventually—
the world itself began changing.
It started subtly at first.
The skies ahead looked wrong somehow.
Clouds moved unnaturally fast before freezing motionless.
Birds vanished completely.
Even the wind occasionally stopped without explanation for several seconds at a time.
Then came the distortions.
Mountains appearing farther away than they should.
Echoes arriving before sounds themselves.
Shadows moving slightly out of sync with reality.
And the closer they traveled northward—
the stronger Vijaya's final resonance became.
By the sixth day, nobody joked anymore.
Because even reality itself no longer felt stable around them.
That evening, while climbing the final ridge overlooking the northern wastelands beyond, Arin suddenly stopped walking.
Everyone immediately noticed.
Liora stepped beside him quietly afterward.
"…Arin?"
But he didn't answer immediately.
Because ahead of them—
the world ended.
Not literally.
But it looked close enough.
Beyond the ridge stretched an enormous broken landscape where reality itself appeared shattered apart. Floating pieces of mountains hung suspended endlessly in distorted skies. Rivers flowed upward into fractured clouds. Black storms moved sideways across impossible horizons while glowing tears spread throughout the air itself like cracks across glass.
Entire sections of land folded unnaturally into one another while distant ruins drifted endlessly through the skies above the wasteland.
Time itself visibly distorted there.
One side of the horizon remained trapped in sunset while another shifted rapidly between night and day repeatedly.
The Fractured Expanse.
Silence swallowed the group completely.
Even Riven couldn't speak.
Because no words truly captured what they were seeing.
And somewhere deep within that broken world—
the final fragment of Vijaya pulsed violently.
Waiting.